Mum’s Little Knight In Shining Armour
by Snowbird forever
Summary: This story is set long before Dr. Mike came in Colorado and is based on the lines from the series. Have you ever wondered how did the whole mess between Charlotte and Ethan Cooper started and how did it affect Matthew, Colleen and Brian?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I know that I already have one story that I am working on, but the inspiration for this one came all by itself, uninvited! :D This story is set long before Dr. Mike came in Colorado and is based on the lines from the series (you'll see what I mean) and it is something that I wanted to write for quite some time! So, I hope that you can deal with both of my stories, LOL! **

**I wanna thank to Natalie for being my beta reader for this story, girl, you're an angel! Also, thanks to Linda for talking me into posting this story when I wasn't sure should I do it before I finish "Walking On the Wire". :D**

**Mum's Little Knight In Shining Armour**

"You did WHAT?!," Charlotte Cooper couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Throwing her hands up in the air, she yelled: "Ethan, we have three children to take care off and you just went out and sold our farm?!"

"Charlotte…," Ethan Cooper closed his eyes, a breath of pure frustration leaving his lips.

"You could have at least asked me before you sold everything we had!," Charlotte was desperate.

"I didn't because I knew that you would have been against it…," Ethan tried to speak again.

"DAMN RIGHT I WOULD BE AGAINST IT!," yelled Charlotte. The next moment, she tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down. The children were in the other room, she didn't want them to get upset. "Now what?," she asked "What are we going to do now you've sold our home?," tears had filled her eyes by now.

"Don't you worry, I will give you even more than we've had, more than you've ever imagined to own," Ethan was smiling widely. "The kids will go to the best schools and you won't have to work another day in your life, Charlotte."

Charlotte watched her husband's face, not understanding a thing he was saying. They had a farm in Topeka, took them four years to get that thing going and just when they did, he decided to sell everything and now he stood here, promising her castles and fairytales…

"Have you completely lost your mind?," she whispered "How are we going to get so much money?!"

Ethan looked deeply into his wife's eyes and gave her a hug.

"We're gonna go mining for gold," he proudly stated.

Charlotte's eyes went wide open and it felt like all the blood had drained from her face.

"Ethan, are you crazy?!," she tried to keep her voice down, but it was getting harder and harder. "Brian is practically still a baby, Colleen is so sensitive and Matthew will have to leave all his friends and what about his school?! You are turning their lives upside down out of greed?!"

"I KNEW YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!! I AM THE HEAD OF THIS HOUSE AND IF I SAY THAT WE GO, WE WILL GO!!!!," with that, Ethan stormed out the house, leaving Charlotte totally shocked behind.

She felt as if her legs were going to betray her. Tears started to roll down her cheeks and she pressed her mouth to stop her sobs. Her heart broke as she heard Brian's soft cries and Colleen's voice as she tried to comfort her little brother. Charlotte ran toward the kitchen and closed the doors. That was when she broke down in tears so hard that she didn't even notice the doors of the kitchen slowly opening.

"Ma?"

Charlotte flinched and quickly wiped her tears away.

"Yes, Matthew?,"she swallowed her sobs, trying to sound calm. She didn't want to upset her son.

In the next moment, Matthew was right beside his Mum and without a word, he gave her a strong hug.

Charlotte pressed her lips tightly together, figthing back the tears. Her oldest son must have heard Ethan yelling at her. As always, Matthew was very quiet, but he showed her with his coming in the kitchen and his long, strong hug that he is there for her. And that was all that Charlotte needed right now.

"Don't cry, Mum. You have me. I'll watch over you," as she heard that quiet promise coming from her 14 – year old son, Charlotte hugged him back and kissed his hair, her tears now rolling down her cheeks freely.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The horses were walking for the second day now, transporting the Cooper family into their new life – as Ethan put it. Holding a sleeping Brian in her arms, Charlotte watched the road in front of her, Ethan's words passing by her ears. The children had been restless for the last few hours as the long trip was taking its toll on them. She had managed to lull Brian to sleep, but Colleen and Matthew were something else. Her older kids sat in the back of the wagon, too quiet. About two hours ago, Ethan had snapped at them to stay put and quiet otherwise they would never reach the camp.

Charlotte had fought him, saying that the children needed to rest. In order to get some peace, Ethan had stopped the horses for about 20 minutes near the river. The horses were exhausted and drank the water thirstily. In the meantime, Charlotte had given some lunch to the kids, the sandwiches that she had prepared for the trip. It pained her to see Colleen's eyes red from crying and Matthew's serious face.

She sighed as the horses trotted over the road and turned back to check on her kids.

"You all right back there?," she asked, gently caressing Colleen's soft hair.

Colleen nodded, her face buried in her brother's shoulder. Charlotte swallowed her tears back, knowing that her daughter was still crying.

"She'll be fine, Ma, she just needs some sleep, that's all," said Matthew.

Charlotte looked at her oldest child and felt her heart warming. Ever since her fight with Ethan in Topeka and during the entire trip, Matthew had taken half of her pain on his young shoulders. He looked at her peacefully, his blue eyes reminding her of that promise he had made to her. Charlotte gently squeezed his shoulder, blinking her tears away. Turning around, she looked at her husband.

"Ethan, we need to stop."

"We stopped two hours ago, no more time," was his cold reply.

"You stopped for twenty minutes, not enough for me to even cook something. The children are eating sandwiches and are sleeping in the wagon for two days now and that's enough!," Charlotte's voice was stern and determined.

Ethan didn't say anything, didn't even flinch. Charlotte watched him for a few seconds then grabbed the reins from his hands.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?," yelled Ethan, causing Brian to wake up and burst into tears.

"Whoooaaa!," Charlotte halted the horses, stopping them abruptly. She glared at her husband, her eyes shooting fire at him.

"My children need to sleep in a bed and some proper food! If you don't like it, get on with your trip! Matthew, Colleen, get down," she said, stepping down herself and whispering soothing words to a crying Brian.

Turning back, she grabbed a small package from the wagon and glared at Ethan "You can get on with your ride, but I am taking my share of the money and we'll unload our things," glancing painfully at the wagon, remembering her warm home back at Topeka, she added bitterly "Not that there's much left," she swallowed, remembering everything that they had lost. They had been able to take only some clothes and food before Ethan had taken them on this trip.

Charlotte's lashing out at him was something that Ethan didn't need right now and he definitely didn't want her to take half of the money. He knew how protective Charlotte got when it came to the children and he quickly decided to pull back. Otherwise, she would ruin all his plans and he would never fulfill his dream.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he finally said, glaring at the horses "Lets go find a place to rest."

~*~

After a night spent in a hotel in Manitou, the family continued their trip. Colleen and Matthew were playing with Brian in the back, and Charlotte smiled every time she heard her beloved kids' laughter.

It was dawn when they reached the camp. Charlotte took in her surroundings, feeling her heart ache. There were no houses around, just tents. She glared sharply at Ethan.

"Is this what you had in mind when you said that you'll give us more than we had? A life in a tent?!"

Before Ethan could reply, a man approached the wagon. He could be in his forties and was dressed in a suit. His black hair was hidden under a hat and when he smiled, his black mustache moved up, revealing his bad teeth.

"Ethan Cooper!," the man exclaimed "You're finally here!"

"Hello, George!," Ethan was all smiles as he stepped down from his seat.

"Welcome, welcome!", George grinned and quickly glanced at the woman and kids in the wagon "This must be your family. Pleasure to meet you, Ma'am," he extended his hand to Charlotte "I'm George Wilkinson, owner of the camp."

Charlotte accepted his hand, faking a smile. His hand was cold and sweaty and something in his face made her unable to trust him.

"I'll show you to your tent, come on," George slapped Ethan in a friendly way on his shoulder and the men started to walk, talking all the way. Charlotte sighed; she had no other choice but to follow them.


End file.
